This invention relates to a window covering or window shade utilizable, for example, with a spring loaded mounting rod attachable to a window frame at an upper end thereof.
A particularly common kind of window shade comprises a soft vinyl or plastic coated cloth web attached at an upper end to a spring loaded mounting bar or rod. The rod has at its ends a pair of outwardly projecting lugs which are insertable into corresponding slots of respective wall brackets mounted to the upper end of a window frame at opposite sides thereof. Upon the application to the window shade of a force directed downwardly and inwardly, i.e., towards the inside of the room from which the window looks, the window shade is drawn upwardly by a rotary motion of the mounting rod or cylinder. The upward motion of the shade can be arrested by moving the shade into a vertical position.
Window shades of the above-described type had been manufactured with a uniform width until several years ago. In order to adapt the shades to windows of varying widths, it had been the practice to cut the window shades at retail outlets in accordance with window width specifications brought to the stores by the purchasers. This method of adapting window shades to the different types of windows required the provision of a special cutting machine at each retail outlet. In addition, the practice resulted in a considerable waste of time in that consumers were frequently obliged to await the performance of the cutting operation by a retail sales person.
In a relatively new kind of window shade of the above-described general type, a vinyl window shade web is provided with a multiplicity of laterally equispaced lines of perforations extending the length of the web. With this new kind of window shade it is no longer necessary to perform a cutting operation at the retail outlet. The consumer juxtaposes the window shade to the window to determine the appropriate width of the shade. The shade is then torn along the line of perforations corresponding to the appropriate window shade width. The mounting bar or rod is commonly a pair of telescoping cylinders, whereby the length of the mounting rod may be adjusted in accordance with the width of the window shade upon separation of a lateral portion by tearing or severing along a line of perforations. Similarly, a weighting rod or bar attached to the window shade web at the lower end thereof may consist essentially of a pair of telescoping cylinders for adjusting the length of the weighting rod in accordance with the width of the window shade.
An object of the present invention is to provide an improved window shade of the above-described general type.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a window shade of heightened aesthetic value and increased durability.